I Name Thee Bundt

I Name Thee Bundt

By Kay Gardiner 11/15/16

Dear Ann,

It’s been a while since something flew off my needles as fast as the Titania neckwarmer. I cast it on late Saturday night, and bound it off yesterday afternoon, unfortunately not before darkness fell at 3:30. (Overcast day + north-facing apartment = the gloom of a sepulchre.)

Light is scarce, models are in short supply. Life is hard.

Olive thinks life is a bit too hard. She is not getting paid for this.

I cannot help but feel that Titania should be called Bundt, especially in this Glazed Pecan shade of Madeline Tosh A.S.A.P. bulky yarn. It has a wonderful shape, formed by using a tuck stitch to permanently fold 16 rows of 2 x 2 ribbing into a tube. You do this three times, and Bob’s your uncle.

Luckily it does not really need blocking, because I don’t know how I’d go about it. Titania aka Bundt-y Neckwarmer is super warm, an accessory to be grateful for on a really cold day, and a funky bit of sculpture to knit.

Self Care: The Internal Position

One of the things I like about our site redesign is that articles don’t disappear into the basement when we publish something new; they live on, in an orderly way, in their categories. People who are browsing (aka aimlessly wandering) can find pieces even after they are no longer on the home page, and they can leave comments on them.

Recently, someone left a comment on Max Daniels’ first piece on self care that really resonated with me. Max’s piece started a conversation about what self care means when the budget is tight. This was Kathleen’s take:

I don’t have much “fun” money after bills, food, and gas are paid for. And I don’t care much for pedi or manicures (I keep my nails quite short). But I took that suggestion as a symbolic placeholder more than an absolute. I took it to mean find what gives you pleasure, what gives to yourself rather than to others, what do you do just for you, and pursue it.I like gardening… on a nice summer day even the weeding gives me that feeling of connecting with the sun and earth and the buzzing and chirping of life around me.I pay attention when I pet my cat… how soft the fur, how sweet the half closed eyes, the way the purr rumbles through my hands into my body.I fill the tub with hot water, and with a cold drink on the rim, and tunes playing, I soak and melt.I play music. On the radio, on the computer, on an instrument. I sing aloud… as loud and as soulfully as I want.No one is denying that having money limitations doesn’t limit your options. It does. But that doesn’t mean you don’t deserve to care for yourself as well. Max does point out, self care is an internal position. She got there by starting externally. Some of us will have to find other doorways.I’m looking for mine. I hope you can find yours.

I will now be reading MDK posts and comments not only for the entertainment value but also hoping for more beautiful words from Kathleen. Her words here cut through the web of daily responsibilities and extraneous noise that binds us all up and went straight to my heart. I literally did a full stop. Thank you, Kathleen!

Love your bust model. Great juxtaposition of “hard” and “soft!”
And the self care comment is quite lovely; thanks for sharing it. Money isn’t everything and her self care reminded me of Zen or mindfulness… just being in the moment.
Enjoy life’s little pleasures, as they add up to great things. Speaking of which, that moon this week! Hope you got to see it. Dog walking in the dark was so NOT dark, due to the brightness of moon glow. It was magical and made me realize that the evening chore is anything but a chore, but a true pleasure. 🙂

I think that Olive is unhappy with the color. While beautiful, it just isn’t right with her fur. I think a russet or a hunter green would make her happier. She also recognizes the proportions are wrong for her body type.

Oh, Olive! I think that this is the cutest photo of an animal modeling a handknit that I have ever seen! Those eyes! And I love Kathleen’s comment. I, too, am on a limited income, and I understand that the mani/pedi is only a symbol. One of my “external” tools for self-care is a weekly appointment at my local Community Acupuncture clinic. It is only $15, and has helped me so much with multiple chronic and acute health issues over the last year and a half. (And it’s also a chance to just rest with your feet up for half an hour.) It is a nationwide system, and sliding scale is $15-$40. I can’t recommend it highly enough! (Especially Erica, at the Newport, OR clinic!)

Olive makes everything look better! My 13-year-old daughter recently stole a cowl I’d just finished, and then asked if she could have more, in other colors. What, you want me to knit you things? YOU GOT IT. Titania’s going on the list.

I hear that! Petting my cat is something I need every day. He and I really connect. It helps tremendously. Sometimes I put my ear right on his shoulder, where the purr is deepest and I just let that sound fill my head. I’m weird, but I love it.

So, I have been looking to leave a note on the new configuration. I like so much about it! It’s lively, it’s fun, and it’s celebratory in a way that many of us really need lately. Thank you!

But. . . .I find it really hard to maneuver through. I read you on Fridays, mostly, and in the past I’d start at the bottom post and work my way up, clicking on each link, until I’d read all your posts (letters). Now, however, I am, as my beloved Pennsylvania Dutch grandmother would say, fuhuddled. I have no idea where various posts are, I don’t know what’s been changed where, and I have a terrible, sneaking, junior-high-like feeling that there are parties happening that I am missing out on!

I’d love to see the letters made easier to access (once again) and then some kind of indicator when a category has gotten a new post. Or something.

Or maybe I’m just wishing a lot of things would go back to the way they were. Anyway. Thanks for the comment box, and thanks for the joyous vibe!

I miss the chronological way, too. Fortunately, I am an RSS subscriber and still get everything in order, though it’s become too much to keep up with. Even if you don’t use an RSS reader, you can still look at https://www.masondixonknitting.com/feed/ which has recent posts in a dated list.